1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light emitting device that uses a semiconductor light emitting element, and particularly to a light emitting device having a protective element (or protection element) mounted therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, light emitting devices of surface mounting type have been widely used in place of light emitting devices of lamp type.
The light emitting device of surface mounting type has such a constitution as a light emitting element is provided in a support body (package), and lead frame terminals are formed integrally as positive and negative electrodes to which positive and negative electrodes of the light emitting element are connected, respectively. The light emitting device is required to have a higher electrostatic withstanding voltage (or electrostatic discharge withstand voltage), when it is used in a place prone to the influence of static electricity. Accordingly, a protective element such as zener diode is provided in the vicinity of the light emitting element (refer, for example, to JP H11-54804 A).
However, in case a protective element is provided in the vicinity of the light emitting element on the support body, it is necessary to secure a sufficient space for mounting the protective element and for bonding wires. As a result, it is necessary to make the lead frame and the support body larger in size, thus imposing a limitation to the size reduction of the light emitting device. There is also such a problem that light emitted by the light emitting element is absorbed or blocked by the protective element, resulting in a decrease in the efficiency of extracting light for the light emitting device as a whole.